To all our friends and family, and everyone else our thoughts and prayers are with you. I heard there was severe damages to many homes of our friends and family from Treasure Beach in Florida

Glaceta, how are you doing?

Just want to give a little info on the happenings in Ft lauderdale after Wilma passed through on monday morning. Lots of power lines down,98% of the county without power,phone lines down some people have no water and if you do it has to be boiled.Lots of people lost their roof,i know of people who had to run to their closet for cover. Most or the damage was due to wind we didn't get the rain like back home(great bay)and it could have been so much worse. We thought we were getting a category 1 then it was 2 and no time a 3, so the devastation was unexpected.Fuel is one of the big problems here too, no electricity to pump so the few that have generators to operate have lines that are miles long.We were told we have a 5 hr wait to get $20 gas, people were pusing their cars, i knew i would have to do the same if i waited in line.

I am able to post this message because i am in palm beach we are mostly back to normal here, still have curfew at 7pm.I am further north so we were not hit as bad as broward and miami, just a smash window and missing tiles from my roof

If people are unable to communicate i wold assume its due to down satelite and phone lines,and they are hopefully ok.The news only reported a man killed when he went outside during the storm

Thanks so much for the update Dadrie. My parents in Naples still do not have power and my sister in Miami got power back on Wednesday. They both report the same type of damage as you have mentioned.

I live in Hollywood Fl and still do not have power in my home. (I'm posting from work in Miami). There are tons of trees down. Many homes have some damage.

My friend in Hollywood area sent this today:

"There wasn't a single working traffic light in the entire county (Broward) but that changed as of yesterday (Wednesday). Now there are only flashing red/yellow lights. I can hear lots of angry honking from the traffic outside as there is a gas station at the head of my block. However, it's closed. There is an ice/water aid station a couple of blocks from my house with incredibly long lines in both directions. Even more amazing are the 2 and 3 mile-long lines of people waiting for gas. You Lowe's was open with power, however, Home Depot was open (without power) but offering only a few at a time with an escort. Some drugstores are open. Very few gas stations. Most grocery stores are to be open today, however, the shelves are bare. Cash is short & no one can accept a credit card....unless they are one of the lucky ones to have power. I stayed in Sunrise where they eye passed. My friend lost a screened in porch, fence and 3 trees. However, we did get electricity back last night. Everyone except for a few are under a boil water act. I returned home today thinking there would be power, since there is a police/fire station at the head of my block, but no, not today. "

Hope everyone effected by the storms gets the help they need.

I have never seen a storm hit before,so for me this was an experience. I live in Broward, which is where WILMA hit very bad. Luckily i survive and only missing a couple tiles from my roof. Also my family here is doing just fine, thank god.
In my neighborhood alot of people lost there cars due to trees falling on them. It was a disaster when i looked outside after the storm. So far i have only heard of one fatality. It was so good to get my phone back. The first thing i did was call my family in TBeach to let them know that i was ok. Thank God..........

I live in Pembroke Pines, and we just got power back yesterday. Returned to work today after being off for a week. Mostly all the traffic lights are still not working. What usually takes me 30 minutes to get home now takes almost 2 hours because at each traffic light we have to treat it like a 4-way stop sign. This hurricane has been an eye opener for me to prepare better for the next season. Hope everyone keeps safe on the road and hope power restores soon.

ON WILMA

I live in Plantation, Florida. My daughter Tanya and I lived in her condo. We were flooded out. Yesterday, Tuesday, we had another shower of rain, and the city of Plantation came and declare our building "Unfit for occupancy." I have learned many valuable lessons--one being the lesson of humility. Below is my latest storm poem:

STORMS

Let the storm rage, my child
Let it rage;
Let the sea fling up its boisterous waves;
And let the winds, with rage and fury,
rip and uproot and toss.
But for a moment it will last
and MUST subside,
and you will find yourself in someone’s arms—
someone who only
can look the furious thing in the EYE and say:
“You may go this far and no farther.”

~Glasceta Honeyghan, 2005)~

Job 38:1-11